Liquid seed dressing method for dressing small quantities of seed

ABSTRACT

A method of dressing seeds is disclosed. The method utilizes a seed treatment slurry which is applied to seed by subjecting the seed and seed treatment slurry to a dual asymmetrical centrifugal mixing motion. The method provides uniformly dressed seeds and is suitable for dressing small seed lots.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods of treating seed lots with aseed dressing and, in particular, this invention relates to methods ofdressing relatively small amounts of seed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Seeds have been treated with a wide variety of enhancement chemicals andother materials for decades. The recent development of transgenic cropshas resulted in an increased focus on seed treatment, because of theincreased value of such genetically-modified seeds.

Both continuous and batch seed treaters are known to the art. Mostcontinuous treaters are industrial scale and are designed to efficientlytreat relatively large seed lots (i.e., thousands of pounds of seed).Smaller seed lots have traditionally been treated using laboratory batchtreaters. Spinning disc treaters like the Hege 11, are popular andutilize different size dressing bowls to treat seed batch sizes from 20grams up to 3000 grams. The liquid seed dressing dose is delivered tothe rotating seed using a syringe barrel or other dispensing device.Rotating pots, drums or pans are effective to treat small seed batchesranging from 25 grams to several 100 lbs. The liquid seed dressing istypically atomized onto the rotating seed surface or delivered by a driptube. Automizing or misting the liquid seed dressing onto seed canresult in off target spray. Misting applies a liquid seed dressinggradually. The coating is built up over time while the seed continuouslytumbles. Heavier seed kernels like corn, can begin to rub off thecoating as seed to seed contact causes coating abrasion. This techniquecan become counter productive as the process proceeds. Seed dressingequipment, particularly dressing implements that are not disposable suchas atomization nozzles, pots, dressing containers, ventillatedenclousures, etc. which become contaminated during the applicationprocess must be thoroughly cleaned before a different liquid seeddressing is applied. For small seed lots this can become laborious, timeconsuming and highly variable depending on the operators experiencelevel. For seed lots of less than 20 grams, comprised of only a fewkernels of seed, for example, 10-40 seeds—there are no suitable,exacting reproducible treatment methods. The dilemma of applying aliquid seed dressing to only a few kernels can be delicate and awkwardfor a treater.

These small seed lots, such as genetically-modified seeds, are oftenextremely valuable. Examples of these small seed lots include parentseeds (e.g., breeders, foundation, registered), hand-produced hybridseeds, and vegetable seeds. These small seed lots must be treateduniformly with fungicides, insecticides and other materials to eliminatelosses from diseases, insects and harsh conditions. Oftentimes thesesmall seed lots are treated by shaking the seeds in a jar performed bylaboratory personnel. The inner walls of the jar can be coated with asmuch liquid seed dressing as the seeds themselves resulting innon-uniform and inconsistent application of the liquid seed dressingdose. Every individual is different and the implements and conditions inwhich they apply liquid seed dressing to small seed lots can varygreatly in practice. In addition, laboratory personnel may experienceergonomic trauma to their wrists as a result of hand shaking largenumbers of seed lots over time. Unwanted residual chemical carryoverbetween high value seed lots must be eliminated. Heretofore, systems forthe treatment of small seed lots have used inefficient protocols andequipment which have failed to eliminate carryover. Accordingly, theseprotocols and equipment often resulted in seed lots, which were nottreated uniformly and/or were contaminated with carryover seed and/ortreatment materials.

Dry application seed treatment formulations are dusty and can presentunacceptable worker exposure to air borne and particulate activeingredients. Liquid systems, particularly those that are aqueous basedare preferred. Certain liquid formulations can become inhomogeneous onstorage, such that particle size or viscosity do not remain constant.Additional problems can arise such as unacceptable drying times,material build-up in the seed treater, low seed flowability, poor seedcoverage and dust-off of the active ingredient from the seed prior toplanting. As a result, handling is rendered difficult and the biologicalefficacy and integrity of the seed treatment is reduced.

Uniformity of application is particularly important when testing newactive ingredients. Currently available treaters often requirerelatively large amounts of active ingredients for application to theseeds. This becomes an issue when the new active ingredients have a higheconomic value on a per gram basis and supply is limited. Currentlyavailable treaters present challenges in testing these new activeingredients over a range of active ingredient doses applied to multipleseed types in order to determine their optimal dosages and seedresponse. Thus, uniformity of application is particularly important whentesting new active ingredients.

Accordingly, there is then a need for seed treatment methods thateliminate contamination from carryover seed and/or treatment materialsin small seed lots and provide uniformly covered seeds having highbiological efficacy post planting. There is also a need for protocolsand equipment that are user friendly, easy to load and treat with, whichallow operators to focus on other attributes of the seed treatmentbesides the application process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Seed treatment methods are disclosed that quickly treat small seed lotsproviding uniformly covered seeds, which have high biological efficacypost planting. A method of dressing a small seed lot is provided. Themethod includes providing a small seed lot to be dressed; providing aliquid composition to be applied to said small seed lot; and applying adual asymmetrical centrifugal mixing motion to the small seed lot andthe liquid composition for a sufficient amount of time to surface coatthe seeds in the small seed lot. The dual asymmetrical centrifugalmixing motion causes said liquid composition to uniformly spread andsubsequently dry onto each seed surface in said small seed lot.Virtually any seat type can be dressed. For example, treatable seedsinclude, but are not limited to those from, maize, wheat, barley, rice,sorghum, rye, millet, cotton, safflower, rape seed, sunflower, Brassica,alfalfa, palm, coconut, flax, castor, olive guar, locust bean,fenugreek, soybean, garden beans, cowpea, mungbean, lima bean, favabean, lentils, and chickpea. The liquid composition is made up of one ormore active ingredients including herbicides, insecticides, fungicides,bactericides, nematicides, molluscicides, or mixtures thereof.Additional materials may also be present in the seed treatment slurryincluding carriers, surfactants, dyes, pigments, growth regulators,dispersants, film-forming polymers, anti-caking agents, foam-controlagents, or mixtures thereof. The small seed lots may contain anywherefrom 1 to 10,000 seeds. The dual asymmetrical centrifugal mixing motionis by a FlackTek Model 150 FVZ-K SpeedMixer. The small seed lot and theliquid composition weighs between 0 and 100 grams.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the description that follows, a number of terms are used extensively.The following definitions are provided to facilitate understanding ofthe embodiments.

For purposes of the present description the term “seed” is not limitedto a particular type of seed and can refer to seed from a single plantspecies, a mixture of seed from multiple plant species, or a seed blendfrom various strains within a plant species. The described methods canbe utilized to treat gymnosperm seed, dicotyledonous angiosperm seed andmonocotyledonous angiosperm seed. The seed treatment methods accordingto the present invention can be particularly useful for treatment ofseed which will be utilized in applications including but not limited tohome gardening, crop production, forestry applications, and governmentrehabilitation programs.

The methods of this invention may be used to treat or dress seeds ofvirtually all plant species. Suitable seeds for dressing using themethods of the present invention include seeds of wheat, durum wheat,barley, oat, rye, maize, sorghum, rice, wild rice, cotton, flax, oilseed rage, sunflower, safflower, soybean, millet, garden bean, limabean, broad bean, guar, locust bean, fenugreek, cowpea, mungbean, favabean, lentils, chickpea, garden pea, peanut, alfalfa, palm, coconut,castor, olive, beet, garden lettuce, cole crop, turnip, leaf mustard,black mustard, tomato, potato, pepper, eggplant, tobacco, cucumber,muskmelon, watermelon, squash, carrot, zinnia, cosmos, chrysanthemum,sweet scabious, snapdragon, gerbera, babys-breath, statice, blazingstar, lisianthus, yarrow, marigold, pansy, impatiens, petunia, geraniumand coleus.

In particular, seeds of interest include, but are not limited to thosefrom, corn (Zea mays), Brassica sp. (e.g., B. napus, B. rapa, B.juncea), particularly those Brassica species useful as sources of seedoil, alfalfa (Medicago sativa), rice (Oryza sativa), rye (Secalecereale), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor, Sorghum vulgare), millet (e.g.,pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum),foxtail millet (Setaria italica), finger millet (Eleusine coracana)),sunflower (Helianthus annuus), safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), soybean(Glycine max), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), potato (Solanum tuberosum),peanuts (Arachis hypogaea), cotton (Gossypium barbadense, Gossypiumhirsutum), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatus), cassava (Manihot esculenta),coffee (Coffea spp.), coconut (Cocos nucifera), pineapple (Ananascomosus), citrus trees (Citrus spp.), cocoa (Theobroma cacao), tea(Camellia sinensis), banana (Musa spp.), avocado (Persea americana), fig(Ficus casica), guava (Psidium guajava), mango (Mangifera indica), olive(Olea europaea), papaya (Carica papaya), cashew (Anacardiumoccidentale), macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia), almond (Prunusamygdalus), sugar beets (Beta vulgaris), sugarcane (Saccharum spp.),oats, barley, vegetables, ornamentals, and conifers.

Vegetable seeds of interest include tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum),lettuce (e.g., Lactuca sativa), green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), limabeans (Phaseolus limensis), peas (Lathyrus spp.), and members of thegenus Cucumis such as cucumber (C. sativus), cantaloupe (C.cantalupensis), and musk melon (C. melo). Ornamental seed of interestinclude azalea (Rhododendron spp.), hydrangea (Macrophylla hydrangea),hibiscus (Hibiscus rosasanensis), roses (Rosa spp.), tulips (Tulipaspp.), daffodils (Narcissus spp.), petunias (Petunia hybrida), carnation(Dianthus caryophyllus), poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima), andchrysanthemum. Conifer seeds that may be employed in practicing themethods include, for example, pines such as loblolly pine (Pinus taeda),slash pine (Pinus elliotii), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), lodgepolepine (Pinus contorta), and Monterey pine (Pinus radiata); Douglas-fir(Pseudotsuga menziesii); Western hemlock (Tsuga canadensis); Sitkaspruce (Picea glauca); redwood (Sequoia sempervirens); true firs such assilver fir (Abies amabilis) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea); and cedarssuch as Western red cedar (Thuja plicata) and Alaska yellow-cedar(Chamaecyparis nootkatensis).

Turfgrasse seeds include, but are not limited to: annual bluegrass (Poaannua); annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum); Canada bluegrass (Poacompressa); Chewings fescue (Festuca rubra); colonial bentgrass(Agrostis tenuis); creeping bentgrass (Agrostis palustris); crestedwheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum); fairway wheatgrass (Agropyroncristatum); hard fescue (Festuca longifolia); Kentucky bluegrass (Poapratensis); orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata); perennial ryegrass(Lolium perenne); red fescue (Festuca rubra); redtop (Agrostis alba);rough bluegrass (Poa trivialis); sheep fescue (Festuca ovina); smoothbromegrass (Bromus inermis); tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea); timothy(Phleum pratense); velvet bentgrass (Agrostis canina); weepingalkaligrass (Puccinellia distans); western wheatgrass (Agropyronsmithii); Bermuda grass (Cynodon spp.); St. Augustine grass(Stenotaphrum secundatum); zoysia grass (Zoysia spp.); Bahia grass(Paspalum notatum); carpet grass (Axonopus affinis); centipede grass(Eremochloa ophiuroides); kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandesinum);seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum); blue gramma (Boutelouagracilis); buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloids); sideoats gramma(Bouteloua curtipendula).

The above recited seeds are illustrative, and should not be consideredlimiting in any way. For economic reasons seed treatments of cotton,maize, soybean and rice are important embodiments of the invention. Anynumber of seeds can be dressed using the methods of the presentinvention including but not limited to from 1 to 10,000 seeds. Forexample, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36,37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54,55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72,73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90,91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106,107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120,121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134,135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148,149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162,163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176,177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190,191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204,205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218,219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232,233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246,247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260,261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274,275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288,289, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 301, 302,303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316,317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330,331, 332, 333, 334, 335, 336, 337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 342, 343, 344,345, 346, 347, 348, 349, 350, 351, 352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 357, 358,359, 360, 361, 362, 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, 370, 371, 372,373, 374, 375, 376, 377, 378, 379, 380, 381, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386,387, 388, 389, 390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 400,401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410, 411, 412, 413, 414,415, 416, 417, 418, 419, 420, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428,429, 430, 431, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, 439, 440, 441, 442,443, 444, 445, 446, 447, 448, 449, 450, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 456,457, 458, 459, 460, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 470,471, 472, 473, 474, 475, 476, 477, 478, 479, 480, 481, 482, 483, 484,485, 486, 487, 488, 489, 490, 491, 492, 493, 494, 495, 496, 497, 498,499, 500, 501, 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 508, 509, 510, 511, 512,513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526,527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540,541, 542, 543, 544, 545, 546, 547, 548, 549, 550, 551, 552, 553, 554,555, 556, 557, 558, 559, 560, 561, 562, 563, 564, 565, 566, 567, 568,569, 570, 571, 572, 573, 574, 575, 576, 577, 578, 579, 580, 581, 582,583, 584, 585, 586, 587, 588, 589, 590, 591, 592, 593, 594, 595, 596,597, 598, 599, 600, 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608, 609, 610,611, 612, 613, 614, 615, 616, 617, 618, 619, 620, 621, 622, 623, 624,625, 626, 627, 628, 629, 630, 631, 632, 633, 634, 635, 636, 637, 638,639, 640, 641, 642, 643, 644, 645, 646, 647, 648, 649, 650, 651, 652,653, 654, 655, 656, 657, 658, 659, 660, 661, 662, 663, 664, 665, 666,667, 668, 669, 670, 671, 672, 673, 674, 675, 676, 677, 678, 679, 680,681, 682, 683, 684, 685, 686, 687, 688, 689, 690, 691, 692, 693, 694,695, 696, 697, 698, 699, 700, 701, 702, 703, 704, 705, 706, 707, 708,709, 710, 711, 712, 713, 714, 715, 716, 717, 718, 719, 720, 721, 722,723, 724, 725, 726, 727, 728, 729, 730, 731, 732, 733, 734, 735, 736,737, 738, 739, 740, 741, 742, 743, 744, 745, 746, 747, 748, 749, 750,751, 752, 753, 754, 755, 756, 757, 758, 759, 760, 761, 762, 763, 764,765, 766, 767, 768, 769, 770, 771, 772, 773, 774, 775, 776, 777, 778,779, 780, 781, 782, 783, 784, 785, 786, 787, 788, 789, 790, 791, 792,793, 794, 795, 796, 797, 798, 799, 800, 801, 802, 803, 804, 805, 806,807, 808, 809, 810, 811, 812, 813, 814, 815, 816, 817, 818, 819, 820,821, 822, 823, 824, 825, 826, 827, 828, 829, 830, 831, 832, 833, 834,835, 836, 837, 838, 839, 840, 841, 842, 843, 844, 845, 846, 847, 848,849, 850, 851, 852, 853, 854, 855, 856, 857, 858, 859, 860, 861, 862,863, 864, 865, 866, 867, 868, 869, 870, 871, 872, 873, 874, 875, 876,877, 878, 879, 880, 881, 882, 883, 884, 885, 886, 887, 888, 889, 990,991, 992, 993, 994, 995, 996, 997, 998, 999, 1000, or greater seeds canbe treated.

The term “active” as used herein shall, in general, be understood tomean any ingredient that is chemically active and/or biologically activein origin. In this regard an “active” ingredient can be a singleingredient or a combination of ingredients; and the meaning of the term“active” shall be understood to include but not be limited to thefollowing:

(1) such arthropodicidally-active compositions-of-matter as aredisclosed and listed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,853;

(2) such bactericidally-active compositions-of-matter as are disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,716;

(3) such fungicidally-active compositions-of-matter as are disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 4,182,716; U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,646; U.S. Pat. No.4,569,690; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,857,649 and 4,950,671; U.S. Pat. Nos.4,966,912 and 5,061,716; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,039,332 and 5,071,862; andU.S. Pat. No. 5,215,747;

(4) such herbicidally-active compositions-of-matter as those disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,646; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,569,690 and 4,927,451; U.S.Pat. No. 4,945,113; U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,910; U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,982 (toBrouwer et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,508; U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,464; U.S.Pat. No. 5,169,430; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,102; and those disclosed inTable 1.

TABLE 1 Herbicide Classification: Herbicide Resistance Action Committee(HRAC) ALS Inhibitors (WSSA Group 2) A. Sulfonylureas 1. Azimsulfuron 2.Chlorimuron-ethyl 3. Metsulfuron-methyl 4. Nicosulfuron 5. Rimsulfuron6. Sulfometuron-methyl 7. Thifensulfuron-methyl 8. Tribenuron-methyl 9.Amidosulfuron 10. Bensulfuron-methyl 11. Chlorsulfuron 12. Cinosulfuron13. Cyclosulfamuron 14. Ethametsulfuron-methyl 15. Ethoxysulfuron 16.Flazasulfuron 17. Flupyrsulfuron-methyl 18. Foramsulfuron 19.Imazosulfuron 20. Iodosulfuron-methyl 21. Mesosulfuron-methyl 22.Oxasulfuron 23. Primisulfuron-methyl 24. Prosulfuron 25.Pyrazosulfuron-ethyl 26. Sulfosulfuron 27. Triasulfuron 28.Trifloxysulfuron 29. Triflusulfuron-methyl 30. Tritosulfuron 31.Halosulfuron-methyl 32. Flucetosulfuron B.Sulfonylaminocarbonyltriazolinones 1. Flucarbazone 2. Procarbazone C.Triazolopyrimidines 1. Cloransulam-methyl 2. Flumetsulam 3. Diclosulam4. Florasulam 5. Metosulam 6. Penoxsulam 7. Pyroxsulam D.Pyrimidinyloxy(thio)benzoates 1. Bispyribac 2. Pyriftalid 3.Pyribenzoxim 4. Pyrithiobac 5. Pyriminobac-methyl E. Imidazolinones 1.Imazapyr 2. Imazethapyr 3. Imazaquin 4. Imazapic 5.Imazamethabenz-methyl 6. Imazamox II. Other Herbicides--ActiveIngredients/ Additional Modes of Action A. Inhibitors of Acetyl CoAcarboxylase (ACCase) (WSSA Group 1) 1. Aryloxyphenoxypropionates(‘FOPs’) a. Quizalofop-P-ethyl b. Diclofop-methyl c.Clodinafop-propargyl d. Fenoxaprop-P-ethyl e. Fluazifop-P-butyl f.Propaquizafop g. Haloxyfop-P-methyl h. Cyhalofop-butyl i.Quizalofop-P-ethyl 2. Cyclohexanediones (‘DIMs’) a. Alloxydim b.Butroxydim c. Clethodim d. Cycloxydim e. Sethoxydim f. Tepraloxydim g.Tralkoxydim B. Inhibitors of Photosystem II-HRAC Group C1/WSSA Group5 1. Triazines a. Ametryne b. Atrazine c. Cyanazine d. Desmetryne e.Dimethametryne f. Prometon g. Prometryne h. Propazine i. Simazine j.Simetryne k. Terbumeton l. Terbuthylazine m. Terbutryne n. Trietazine 2.Triazinones a. Hexazinone b. Metribuzin c. Metamitron 3. Triazolinone a.Amicarbazone 4. Uracils a. Bromacil b. Lenacil c. Terbacil 5.Pyridazinones a. Pyrazon 6. Phenyl carbamates a. Desmedipham b.Phenmedipham C. Inhibitors of Photosystem II--HRAC Group C2/WSSA Group7 1. Ureas a. Fluometuron b. Linuron c. Chlorobromuron d. Chlorotolurone. Chloroxuron f. Dimefuron g. Diuron h. Ethidimuron i. Fenuron j.Isoproturon k. Isouron l. Methabenzthiazuron m. Metobromuron n.Metoxuron o. Monolinuron p. Neburon q. Siduron r. Tebuthiuron 2. Amidesa. Propanil b. Pentanochlor D. Inhibitors of Photosystem II--HRAC GroupC3/WSSA Group 6 1. Nitriles a. Bromofenoxim b. Bromoxynil c. Ioxynil 2.Benzothiadiazinone (Bentazon) a. Bentazon 3. Phenylpyridazines a.Pyridate b. Pyridafol E. Photosystem-I-electron diversion(Bipyridyliums) (WSSA Group 22) 1. Diquat 2. Paraquat F. Inhibitors ofPPO (protoporphyrinogen oxidase) (WSSA Group 14) 1. Diphenylethers a.Acifluorfen-Na b. Bifenox c. Chlomethoxyfen d. Fluoroglycofen-ethyl e.Fomesafen f. Halosafen g. Lactofen h. Oxyfluorfen 2. Phenylpyrazoles a.Fluazolate b. Pyraflufen-ethyl 3. N-phenylphthalimides a. Cinidon-ethylb. Flumioxazin c. Flumiclorac-pentyl 4. Thiadiazoles a.Fluthiacet-methyl b. Thidiazimin 5. Oxadiazoles a. Oxadiazon b.Oxadiargyl 6. Triazolinones a. Carfentrazone-ethyl b. Sulfentrazone 7.Oxazolidinediones a. Pentoxazone 8. Pyrimidindiones a. Benzfendizone b.Butafenicil 9. Others a. Pyrazogyl b. Profluazol G. Bleaching:Inhibition of carotenoid biosynthesis at the phytoene desaturase step(PDS) (WSSA Group 12) 1. Pyridazinones a. Norflurazon 2.Pyridinecarboxamides a. Diflufenican b. Picolinafen 3. Others a.Beflubutamid b. Fluridone c. Flurochloridone d. Flurtamone H. Bleaching:Inhibition of 4- hydroxyphenyl-pyruvate-dioxygenase (4- HPPD) (WSSAGroup 28) 1. Triketones a. Mesotrione b. Sulcotrione 2. Isoxazoles a.Isoxachlortole b. Isoxaflutole 3. Pyrazoles a. Benzofenap b. Pyrazoxyfenc. Pyrazolynate 4. Others a. Benzobicyclon I. Bleaching: Inhibition ofcarotenoid biosynthesis (unknown target) (WSSA Group 11 and 13) 1.Triazoles (WSSA Group 11) a. Amitrole 2. Isoxazolidinones (WSSA Group13) a. Clomazone 3. Ureas a. Fluometuron 3. Diphenylether a. AclonifenJ. Inhibition of EPSP Synthase 1. Glycines (WSSA Group 9) a. Glyphosateb. Sulfosate K. Inhibition of glutamine synthetase 1. Phosphinic Acidsa. Glufosinate-ammonium b. Bialaphos L. Inhibition of DHP(dihydropteroate) synthase (WSSA Group 18) 1 Carbamates a. Asulam M.Microtubule Assembly Inhibition (WSSA Group 3) 1. Dinitroanilines a.Benfluralin b. Butralin c. Dinitramine d. Ethalfluralin e. Oryzalin f.Pendimethalin g. Trifluralin 2. Phosphoroamidates a. Amiprophos-methylb. Butamiphos 3. Pyridines a. Dithiopyr b. Thiazopyr 4. Benzamides a.Pronamide b. Tebutam 5. Benzenedicarboxylic acids a. Chlorthal-dimethylN. Inhibition of mitosis/microtubule organization WSSA Group 23) 1.Carbamates a. Chlorpropham b. Propham c. Carbetamide O. Inhibition ofcell division (Inhibition of very long chain fatty acids as proposedmechanism; WSSA Group 15) 1. Chloroacetamides a. Acetochlor b. Alachlorc. Butachlor d. Dimethachlor e. Dimethanamid f. Metazachlor g.Metolachlor h. Pethoxamid i. Pretilachlor j. Propachlor k. Propisochlorl. Thenylchlor 2. Acetamides a. Diphenamid b. Napropamide c.Naproanilide 3. Oxyacetamides a. Flufenacet b. Mefenacet 4.Tetrazolinones a. Fentrazamide 5. Others a. Anilofos b. Cafenstrole c.Indanofan d. Piperophos P. Inhibition of cell wall (cellulose)synthesis 1. Nitriles (WSSA Group 20) a. Dichlobenil b. Chlorthiamid 2.Benzamides (isoxaben (WSSA Group 21)) a. Isoxaben 3.Triazolocarboxamides (flupoxam) a. Flupoxam Q. Uncoupling (membranedisruption): (WSSA Group 24) 1. Dinitrophenols a. DNOC b. Dinoseb c.Dinoterb R. Inhibition of Lipid Synthesis by other than ACCinhibition 1. Thiocarbamates (WSSA Group 8) a. Butylate b. Cycloate c.Dimepiperate d. EPTC e. Esprocarb f. Molinate g. Orbencarb h. Pebulatei. Prosulfocarb j. Benthiocarb k. Tiocarbazil l. Triallate m. Vernolate2. Phosphorodithioates a. Bensulide 3. Benzofurans a. Benfuresate b.Ethofumesate 4. Halogenated alkanoic acids (WSSA Group 26) a. TCA b.Dalapon c. Flupropanate S. Synthetic auxins (IAA-like) (WSSA Group 4) 1.Phenoxycarboxylic acids a. Clomeprop b. 2,4-D c. Mecoprop 2. Benzoicacids a. Dicamba b. Chloramben c. TBA 3. Pyridine carboxylic acids a.Clopyralid b. Fluroxypyr c. Picloram d. Tricyclopyr 4. Quinolinecarboxylic acids a. Quinclorac b. Quinmerac 5. Others (benazolin-ethyl)a. Benazolin-ethyl T. Inhibition of Auxin Transport 1. Phthalamates;semicarbazones (WSSA Group 19) a. Naptalam b. Diflufenzopyr-Na U. OtherMechanism of Action 1. Arylaminopropionic acids a.Flamprop-M-methyl/-isopropyl 2. Pyrazolium a. Difenzoquat 3.Organoarsenicals a. DSMA b. MSMA 4. Others a. Bromobutide b. Cinmethylinc. Cumyluron d. Dazomet e. Daimuron-methyl f. Dimuron g. Etobenzanid h.Fosamine i. Metam j. Oxaziclomefone k. Oleic acid l. Pelargonic acid m.Pyributicarb

(5) such microbiologically-active compositions-of-matter as aredisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,747;

(6) such pesticidally-active compositions-of-matter as those disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,349; U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,068; U.S. Pat. No.5,134,133; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,134,144 and 5,134,145; and

(7) such plant growth regulant-active compositions-of-matter as thosedisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,033; U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,649; U.S. Pat.No. 4,943,309; U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,332; U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,211; andU.S. Pat. No. 5,176,735.

Active ingredients that are suitable for use in the practice of thepresent invention, include but are not limited to,5,6-dihydro-2-methyl-1,4-oxathiine-3-carboxanilide 4,4-dioxide, alsoknown as oxycarboxin (common name) as well as by its trademarkPLANTVAX®; 2,3-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-7-benzofuranyl methyl carbamate,also known as carbofuran (its common name); methylcarbamic acid2-(2-chloro-1-methoxy ethoxy)phenyl ester, also known as cloethocarb(its common name);2-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-cyclopropyl-1-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-butan-2-ol,also known as cyprocnazole (its common name); pentachloronitrobenzene,also known as cyproconazole (its common name); pentachloronitrobenzene,also known as quintozene (common name) as well as by its trademarkTERRACLOR®; 5-ethoxy-3-(trichloromethyl)-1,2,4-thiadiazole, also knownas etridiazole (common name) as well as its trademark TERRAZOLE®;Rhizobium sp; Penicillium bilajii; Bacillus subtilis;β-(4-chlorophenoxy)-α-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-1-ethanol,also known as triadimenol (common name) or by its trademark BAYTAN®;tetramethylthiuram disulfide, also known as thiram (common name);2-(4-thiazolyl) benzimidazole, also known as thiabendazole (common name)as well as its abbreviation “TBZ”;(2-methyl[1,1′-biphenyl]-3-yl)methyl-3-(2-chloro-3,3,3trifluoro-1-propenyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane-carboxylate, also knownas bifenthrin (common name); 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachlorocyclo-hexane,gamma-isomer, also known as lindane (common name);N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-N-(methoxyacetyl)alanine methyl ester, also knownas metalaxyl (common name);1-[(6-chloro-3-pyridinyl)methyl]-N-nitro-2-imidazolidinimine, also knownas imidacloprid (common name); andα-butyl-α′-(4-chlorophenyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole propanenitrile, also knownas myclobutanil (common name).

Insecticides such as abamectin, acephate, acetamiprid, amidoflumet(S-1955), avermectin, azadirachtin, azinphos-methyl, bifenthrin,bifenazate, buprofezin, carbofuran, cartap, chlorfenapyr,chlorfluazuron, chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos-methyl, chromafenozide,clothianidin, cyflumetofen, cyfluthrin, beta-cyfluthrin, cyhalothrin,lambda-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, cyromazine, deltamethrin,diafenthiuron, diazinon, dieldrin, diflubenzuron, dimefluthrin,dimethoate, dinotefuran, diofenolan, emamectin, endosulfan,esfenvalerate, ethiprole, fenothiocarb, fenoxycarb, fenpropathrin,fenvalerate, fipronil, flonicamid, flubendiamide, flucythrinate,tau-fluvalinate, flufenerim (UR-50701), flufenoxuron, fonophos,halofenozide, hexaflumuron, hydramethylnon, imidacloprid, indoxacarb,isofenphos, lufenuron, malathion, metaflumizone, metaldehyde,methamidophos, methidathion, methomyl, methoprene, methoxychlor,metofluthrin, monocrotophos, methoxyfenozide, nitenpyram, nithiazine,novaluron, noviflumuron (XDE-007), oxamyl, parathion, parathion-methyl,permethrin, phorate, phosalone, phosmet, phosphamidon, pirimicarb,profenofos, profluthrin, pymetrozine, pyrafluprole, pyrethrin,pyridalyl, pyriprole, pyriproxyfen, rotenone, ryanodine, spinosad,spirodiclofen, spiromesifen (BSN 2060), spirotetramat, sulprofos,tebufenozide, teflubenzuron, tefluthrin, terbufos, tetrachlorvinphos,thiacloprid, thiamethoxam, thiodicarb, thiosultap-sodium, tralomethrin,triazamate, trichlorfon and triflumuron are useful in the methods of theinvention.

Fungicides such as acibenzolar, aldimorph, amisulbrom, azaconazole,azoxystrobin, benalaxyl, benomyl, benthiavalicarb,benthiavalicarb-isopropyl, binomial, biphenyl, bitertanol,blasticidin-S, Bordeaux mixture (tribasic copper sulfate),boscalid/nicobifen, bromuconazole, bupirimate, buthiobate, carboxin,carpropamid, captafol, captan, carbendazim, chloroneb, chlorothalonil,chlozolinate, clotrimazole, copper oxychloride, copper salts such ascopper sulfate and copper hydroxide, cyazofamid, cyflunamid,cyflufenamid, (53-3,5-dichloro-N-(3chloro-1-ethyl-1-methyl-2-oxopropyl)-4-methylbenzamide (RH 7281),(S)-3,5-dihydro-5-methyl-2-(methylthio)-5-phenyl-3(phenylamino)-4H-imidazol-4-one (RP 407213), cymoxanil, cyproconazole,cyprodinil, dichlofluanid, diclocymet, diclomezine, dicloran,diethofencarb, difenoconazole, dimethomorph, dimoxystrobin,diniconazole, diniconazole-M, dinocap, discostrobin, dithianon,dodemorph, dodine, econazole, etaconazole, edifenphos, epoxiconazole,ethaboxam, ethirimol, ethridiazole, famoxadone, fenamidone, fenarimol,fenbuconazole, fencaramid, fenfuram, fenhexamide, fenoxanil,fenpiclonil, fenpropidin, fenpropimorph, fentin acetate, fentinhydroxide, ferbam, ferfurazoate, ferimzone, fluazinam, fludioxonil,flumetover, flumorf/flumorlin (SYP-L190), fluopicolide, fluoxastrobin,fluquinconazole, fluquinconazole, flusilazole, flusulfamide, flutolanil,flutriafol, folpet, fosetyl-aluminum, fuberidazole, furalaxyl,furametapyr, hexaconazole, hymexazole, guazatine, imazalil,imibenconazole, iminoctadine, iodicarb, ipconazole, iprobenfos,iprodione, iprovalicarb, isoconazole, isoprothiolane, kasugamycin,kresoxim-methyl, mancozeb, mandipropamid, maneb, mapanipyrin, mefenoxam,mepronil, metalaxyl, metconazole, methasulfocarb, metiram,metominostrobin/fenominostrobin, mepanipyrim, metrafenone, miconazole,myclobutanil, neo-asozin (ferric methanearsonate), nicobifen (BAS 510),nuarimol, octhilinone, ofurace, orysastrobin, oxadixyl, oxolinic acid,oxpoconazole, oxycarboxin, paclobutrazol, penconazole, pencycuron,penthiopyrad, perfurazoate, phosphonic acid, phthalide, picobenzamid,picoxystrobin, polyoxin, probenazole, prochloraz, procymidone,propamocarb, propamocarb-hydrochloride, propiconazole, propineb,proquinazid, prothioconazole, pyraclostrobin, pryazophos, pyrifenox,pyrimethanil, pyrifenox, pyrolnitrine, pyroquilon, quinconazole,quinoxyfen, quintozene, silthiofam, simeconazole, spiroxamine,streptomycin, sulfur, tebuconazole, techrazene, tecloftalam, tecnazene,tetraconazole, thiabendazole, thifluzamide, thiophanate,thiophanate-methyl, thiram, tiadinil, tolclofos-methyl, tolyfluanid,triadimefon, triadimenol, triarimol, triazoxide, tridemorph,trimoprhamide tricyclazole, trifloxystrobin, triforine, triticonazole,uniconazole, validamycin, vinclozolin, zineb, ziram, and zoxamide areuseful in the methods of the invention.

In addition, nematocides such as aldicarb, oxamyl and fenamiphos;bactericides such as streptomycin; acaricides such as amitraz,chinomethionat, chlorobenzilate, cyhexatin, dicofol, dienochlor,etoxazole, fenazaquin, fenbutatin oxide, fenpropathrin, fenpyroximate,hexythiazox, propargite, pyridaben and tebufenpyrad; and biologicalagents such as Bacillus thuringiensis including ssp. aizawai andkurstakz, Bacillus thuringiensis delta endotoxin, baculovirus, andentomopathogenic bacteria, virus and fungi are useful in the methods ofthe invention.

Molluscicides useful in the methods of the present invention includebromoacetamide, calcium arsenate, cloethocarb, copper acetoarsenite,copper sulfate, fentin, metaldehyde, methiocarb, niclosamide,pentachlorophenol, sodium pentachlorophenoxide, tazimcarb, thiodicarb,tralopyril, tributyltin oxide, trifenmorph, and trimethacarb.

A general reference for these agricultural protestants is The PesticideManual, 12th Edition, C. D. S. Tomlin, Ed., British Crop ProtectionCouncil, Farnham, Surrey, U.K., 2000.

Insecticides and acaricides for treating seeds include pyrethroids suchas cypermethrin, cyhalothrin, cyfluthrin and beta-cyfluthrin,esfenvalerate, fenvalerate and tralomethrin; carbamates such asfenothicarb, methomyl, oxamyl and thiodicarb; neonicotinoids such asclothianidin, imidacloprid and thiacloprid; neuronal sodium channelblockers such as indoxacarb, insecticidal macrocyclic lactones such asspinosad, abamectin, avermectin and emamectin; y-aminobutyric acid(GABA) antagonists such as endosulfan, ethiprole and fipronil;insecticidal ureas such as flufenoxuron and triflumuron; juvenilehormone mimics such as diofenolan and pyriproxyfen; pymetrozine; andamitraz. Biological agents for use in the present methods includeBacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus thuringiensis delta endotoxin aswell as naturally occurring and genetically modified viral insecticidesincluding members of the family Baculoviridae as well as entomophagousfungi. Fungicide seed treatments include thiram, maneb, mancozeb andcaptan.

The term “growth regulator” shall be understood to mean a substance thatregulates plant growth including growth regulators such as rootingstimulants, chemosterilants, semiochemicals, repellents, attractants,pheromones, feeding stimulants. In particular, growth regulators usefulin the methods of the present invention include, but are not limited to,auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins, abscixic acid, jasmonates, ethylene,salicylic acid and brassinolides. Plant growth regulators include1H-indole-3-acetic acid, 1H-indole-3-butanoic acid and1-naphthaleneacetic acid and their agriculturally suitable salt, esterand amide derivatives, such as 1-napthaleneacetamide.

The term “carrier” as used herein shall in general be understood to meanan “adherent” or “adhesion agent”, or “film former”. The terms“adherent”, “adhesion agent” and “film former” connote ingredientscapable of causing a substance to adhere to a substrate. A “carrier”agent is a hydrocarbon oil having a boiling point of at least 150° C.,wherein the “carrier” agent is present in an amount that is effectivefor reducing dusting off of the plant seed. Hydrocarbon oil carriers areselected from the group consisting of vegetable oil (such as canolaoil), petroleum-based hydrocarbon oil, paraffinic/naphthenic hydrocarbonoil, mineral oil, and mixtures thereof. Other useful carriers caninclude liquids like water, oils and alcohols which are water soluble.Useful carriers can also include fillers like woodflours, clays,activated carbon, diatomaceous earth, fine-grain inorganic solids,calcium carbonate and the like. Clays and inorganic solids which may beused include calcium bentonite, kaolin, china clay, talc, perlite, mica,vermiculite, silicas, quartz powder, montmorillonite and mixturesthereof.

The film former or adhesive agent component of the seed treatmentcomposition is composed preferably of an adhesive polymer that may benatural or synthetic and is without phytotoxic effect on the seed to becoated. The film former or sticking agent may be selected from polyvinylacetates, polyvinyl acetate copolymers, hydrolyzed polyvinyl acetates,polyvinylpyrrolidone-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl alcohols,polyvinyl alcohol copolymers, polyvinyl methyl ether, polyvinyl methylether-maleic anhydride copolymer, waxes, latex polymers, cellulosesincluding ethylcelluloses and methylcelluloses, hydroxymethylcelluloses, hydroxypropylcellulose, hydroxymethylpropylcelluloses,polyvinyl pyrrolidones, alginates, dextrins, malto-dextrins,polysaccharides, fats, oils, proteins, karaya gum, jaguar gum,tragacanth gum, polysaccharide gums, mucilage, gum arabics, shellacs,vinylidene chloride polymers and copolymers, soybean-based proteinpolymers and copolymers, lignosulfonates, acrylic copolymers, starches,polyvinylacrylates, zeins, gelatin, carboxymethylcellulose, chitosan,polyethylene oxide, acrylimide polymers and copolymers, polyhydroxyethylacrylate, methylacrylimide monomers, alginate, ethylcellulose,polychloroprene and syrups or mixtures thereof. Film formers andadhesive agents include polymers and copolymers of vinyl acetate,polyvinylpyrrolidone-vinyl acetate copolymer and water-soluble waxes.The above-identified polymers include those known in the art and forexample some are identified as Agrimer VA 6 and Licowax 30 KST. Forlarge seeds the amount of film former or sticking agent is typically inthe range of about 0.05 to 5% of the seed weight; for small seeds theamount is typically in the range of about 1 to 100%, but can be greaterthan 100% of seed weight in pelleting.

The term “surfactant”—which includes the terms “emulsifier” and“detergent”—as used herein means a composition of matter that eitheralters surface tension when dissolved in water or an aqueous solution oralters interfacial tension between immiscible liquids or a liquid and asolid. Surfactants suitable for purposes of the present invention arelisted in McCutcheon's Emulsifiers & Detergents, at pages 287-310 of theNorth American Edition (1994), and in McCutcheon's Emulsifiers &Detergents, at pages 257-278 and 280 of the International Edition(1994), both published by MC Publishing Co. (McCutcheon Division) ofGlen Rock, N.J. The Manufactuing Confection Publ. Co., Glen Rock, N.J.,as well as Sisely and Wood, Encyclopedia of Surface Active Agents,Chemical Publ. Co., Inc., New York, 1964, and McCutcheon's Emulsifiersand Detergents and McCutcheon's Functional Materials (North America andInternational Editions, 2001), list surfactants and recommended uses.

In this regard, suitable surfactants include, but are not limited to,for example, ethoxylated alcohols, ethoxylated alkylphenols, ethoxylatedsorbitan fatty acid esters, ethoxylated amines, ethoxylated fatty acids,esters and oils, dialkyl sulfosuccinates, alkyl sulfates, alkylarylsulfonates, organosilicones, N,N-dialkyltaurates, glycol esters,phosphate esters, lignin sulfonates, naphthalene sulfonate, formaldehydecondensates, polycarboxylates, and block polymers includingpolyoxy-ethylene/polyoxypropylene block copolymers, carboxylated alcoholor alkylphenol ethoxylates, lignin and lignin derivatives, polyethyleneglycols, silicone-based surfactants, sulfates and sulfonates, sulfonatesof condensed naphthalenes, sulfonates of dodecyl and tridecylbenzenes,sulfonates of naphthalene and alkyl naphthalene, sulfosuccinamates, andsulfosuccinates and sulfosuccinate derivatives, highly water-solublenonionic surfactants like Pluronic® F108, Brij® 78, and the like.Surfactants are selected from the group consisting of alkarylsulfonates, diphenyl sulfonate derivatives, lignin and ligninderivatives, silicone-based surfactants, sulfonates of condensednaphthalenes, sulfonates of dodecyl/tridecyl benzene, sulfonates ofnaphthalene and alkyl naphthalene, sulfosuccinamates, sulfosuccinates,and mixtures thereof.

The term “dispersant” or “dispersing agent” as used herein connotes asurface-active agent that is added to suspending media to promoteuniform suspension or separation of typically extremely fine solidparticles, often of colloidal size. Dispersants suitable for purposes ofthe present invention are listed in McCutcheon's Functional Materials,at pages 122-142 of the North American Edition (1994), as well as inMcCutcheon's Functional Materials, at pages 47-56 of the InternationalEdition (1994), both published by MC Publishing Company (McCutcheonDivision) of Glen Rock, N.J. In this regard, suitable dispersantsinclude, but are not limited to, nonionic block copolymers, 46%tetramethyl decynediol on amorphous silica, anionic lignin surfactantformulations (including sodium salts of modified sulfonated lignin; andsodium salts of highly sulfonated lignin), polyvinyl pyrrolidone, sodiumbutyl naphthalene sulfonate (including diisobutyl sodiumsulfosuccinate), dihexyl sodium sulfosuccinate, dioctyl ester of sodiumsulfosuccinic acid (including dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate), ditridecylsodium sulfosuccinate, sodium dicyclohexyl sulfosuccinate, sodiumdodecylbenzene sulfonate, polycarboxylate, sodium salt of polymericcarboxylic acid, polycarboxylate copolymers (including sodium salts ofpolymers made from the copolymerization of acrylic acid and maleicacid), polyacrylates (including anionic polyacrylate polymer such aspolyacrylic acids and sodium polyacrylate), ammonium salt of polyacrylicacid, sodium alkyl naphthalene sulfonates (including sodium di-n-butylnaphthalene sulfonate and sodium di-isopropyl naphthalene sulfonate),lignosulfonates (including nonionic surfactant and sodium lignosulfonateblend; and anionic surfactant and sodium lignosulfonate blend), modifiedlignosulfonates, sodium and calcium lignosulfonates (including modifiedcalcium lignosulfonate; modified sodium lignosulfonate; modifiedsodium-calcium lignosulfonate; highly purified calcium lignosulfonate;highly purified sodium lignosulfonate; highly purified partiallydesulfonated sodium lignosulfonate; sugar-free calcium and sugar-freesodium lignosulfonate; alkaline sugar-free sodium lignosulfonate; andthe sodium salt of highly sulfonated kraft pine lignosulfonate),ammonium lignosulfonate, sugar-free ammonium lignosulfonate, sodiumpolynaphthalene sulfonate, sodium naphthalene sulfonic acidformaldehyde, sodium and calcium salts of polymerized substitutedbenzoid alkyl sulfonic acids, sodium neutralized condensed naphthalenesulfonic acids (including sodium salts of condensed naphthalene sulfonicacid and sodium salts of a condensed mononaphthalene sulfonic acid),ammonium salts of a condensed mononaphthalene sulfonic acid, sodiumsalts of polymerized alkyl naphthalene sulfonic acids, potassium saltsof polymerized alkyl naphthalene sulfonic acids, calcium salts ofpolymerized alkyl substituted benzoid alkyl sulfonic acids, sodium saltsof polymerized alkyl and substituted benzoid alkyl sulfonic acids,sodium salts of carboxylated polyelectrolytes, sulfonates of condensednaphthalenes, and neutralized sulfonates of naphthalene/formaldehydecondensates (including sodium sulfonates of naphthalene formaldehydecondensate and sodium salts of a sulfonated naphthalene formaldehydecondensate). Useful dispersants can include highly water-soluble anionicsurfactants like Borresperse™ CA, Morwet® D425 and the like. Dispersantsare selected from the group consisting of block polymers, alkylphenolethoxylates, ethoxylated alcohols, ethoxylated alkylphenols, polyacrylicacid, propoxylated alkylphenols, sulfonated ethoxylated alkylphenols,lignin and lignin derivatives, tridecyl and dodecyl benzene sulfonicacid, and mixtures thereof.

The term “anti-caking agent” shall, in general, be understood to mean asubstance used to improve the integrity of a paste and to lessen thelikelihood of settling of a suspension. The term “anti-caking agent”shall, more particularly, be understood to mean a substance thatpromotes overall structure, body, or suspension properties, or thatprovides a rheological modification to the final desired product. Amongthe anti-caking agents that are suitable in the practice of the presentinvention may be listed: fumed silica (untreated or treated) syntheticcalcium silicate, sodium polyalkyl naphthalene sulfonate,microcrystalline cellulose, sodium aluminosilicate, and the like.

The term “pigment,” which includes the term “dye,” as used herein meansa composition of matter, usually in the form of a dry powder, thatimparts color to another composition of matter or to a mixture. The term“dye” as used herein connotes an organic colorant, derived from apetroleum-based intermediate, to impart permanent color to a substrate.

The term “foam-control” agent or ingredient shall be understood to meana substance that is used to reduce foaming. Foaming may result from thepresence of such foam-inducing agents as proteins, gases, or nitrogenousmaterials. The presence of foam is generally undesirable because foammay interfere with processing. Foam-control agents are generallydiscussed at pages 430-447 in the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of ChemicalTechnology, third edition, volume 7, published 1979 by John Wiley &Sons, Inc. Examples of conventional “foam-control” agents include butare not limited to the group consisting of certain organic phosphates,certain silicone fluids, certain sulfonated oils, and 2-octanol.

Additional foam-control agents suitable for purposes of the presentinvention include but are not limited to silicone-based powder(available from Calgene Chemical Inc. of Skokie, Ill.); mineral oiladsorbed onto silica substrate (available from Rhone Poulenc Corp. ofCranbury, N.J.); tallow soap; synthetic oil adsorbed onto hydrophilicsilica (available from Ross Chemical of Fountain Inn, S.C.);silica-based powders; silicone defoamer; and various mixtures ofsilicone, silica, and polyethylene glycol 600 dioleate.

Useful formulations include liquids such as solutions (includingemulsifiable concentrates), suspensions, emulsions (includingmicroemulsions and/or suspoemulsions) and the like which optionally canbe thickened into gels. Useful formulations further include solids suchas dusts, powders, granules, pellets, tablets, films, and the like whichcan be water-dispersible (“wettable”) or water-soluble.

Active ingredients can be (micro)encapsulated and further formed into asuspension or solid formulation; alternatively the entire formulation ofactive ingredient can be encapsulated (or “overcoated”). Encapsulationcan control or delay release of the active ingredient. High-strengthcompositions are primarily used as intermediates for furtherformulation.

The formulations will typically contain effective amounts of activeingredient, diluent and surfactant within the following approximateranges that add up to 100 percent by weight.

Weight Percent Active Ingredient Diluent Surfactant Water-Dispersibleand 5-90  0-94 1-15 Water-soluble Granules, Tablets and Powders.Suspensions, Emulsions, Solutions 5-50 40-95 0-15 (includingEmulsifiable Concentrates) Dusts 1-25 70-99 0-5  Granules and Pellets0.01-99      5-99.99 0-15 High Strength Compositions 90-99   0-10 0-2 

Typical solid diluents are described in Watkins et al., Handbook ofInsecticide Dust Diluents and Carriers, 2nd Ed., Dorland Books,Caldwell, N.J. Typical liquid diluents are described in Marsden,Solvents Guide, 2nd Ed., Interscience, New York, 1950.

Solid diluents include, for example, clays such as bentonite,montmorillonite, attapulgite and kaolin, starch, sugar, silica, talc,mica, TiO₂, diatomaceous earth, urea, calcium carbonate, sodiumcarbonate and bicarbonate, and sodium sulfate. Liquid diluents include,for example, water, N,N-dimethylformamide, dimethyl 25 sulfoxide,N-alkylpyrrolidone, ethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, propylenecarbonate, dibasic esters, paraffins, alkylbenzenes, alkylnaphthalenes,oils of olive, castor, linseed, lung, sesame, corn, peanut, cotton-seed,soybean, rape-seed and coconut, fatty acid esters, ketones such ascyclohexanone, 2-heptanone, isophorone and4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-pentanone, and alcohols such as methanol,cyclohexanol, decanol, benzyl and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol.

Solutions, including emulsifiable concentrates, can be prepared bysimply mixing the ingredients. Dusts and powders can be prepared byblending and, usually, grinding as in a 5 hammer mill or fluid-energymill. Suspensions are usually prepared by wet-milling; see, for example,U.S. Pat. No. 3,060,084. Granules and pellets can be prepared byspraying the active material upon preformed granular carriers or byagglomeration techniques. See Browning, “Agglomeration”, ChemicalEngineering, Dec. 4, 1967, pp 147-48, Perry's Chemical Engineer'sHandbook, 4th Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1963, pages 8-57 andfollowing, 10 and PCT Publication WO 91/13546. Pellets can be preparedas described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,714.

Water-dispersible and water-soluble granules can be prepared as taughtin U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,050, U.S. Pat. No. 3,920,442 and DE 3,246,493.Tablets can be prepared as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,587, U.S. Pat.No. 5,232,701 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,030. Films can be prepared astaught in GB 2,095,558 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,299,566.

For further information regarding the art of formulation, see T. S.Woods, “The Formulator's Toolbox-Product Forms for Modern Agriculture”in Pesticide Chemistry and Bioscience, The Food-Environment Challenge,T. Brooks and T. R. Roberts, Eds., Proceedings of the 9th InternationalCongress on Pesticide Chemistry, The Royal Society of Chemistry,Cambridge, 1999, pp. 120-133. See also U.S. Pat. No. 3,235,361, Col. 6,line 16 through 20 Col. 7, line 19 and Examples 10-41; U.S. Pat. No.3,309,192, Col. 5, line 43 through Col. 7, line 62 and Examples 8, 12,15, 39, 41, 52, 53, 58, 132, 138-140, 162-164, 166, 167 and 169-182;U.S. Pat. No. 2,891,855, Col. 3, line 66 through Col. 5, line 17 andExamples 1-4; Klingman, Weed Control as a Science, John Wiley and Sons,Inc., New York, 1961, pp 81-96; and Hance et al., Weed Control Handbook,8th Ed., Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, 1989.

The liquid seed treatment compositions useful in the methods of thepresent invention are preferably formulated in the form of an aqueoussolution. The amount of added water utilized in the compositionformation will depend upon the particular components and whether thecomponents are in a dry form, in a liquid form or in solution when addedto the formulation.

The liquid seed treatment composition useful in the methods of thepresent invention comprise an effective amount of one or morebiologically active compounds or agents. As discussed, suitableadditional compounds or agents include insecticides, fungicides,nematocides, bactericides, acaricides, other biologically activecompounds or entomopathogenic bacteria, virus or fungi to form amulti-component seed treatment giving an even broader spectrum ofagricultural utility.

As is known in the art, all formulations can contain minor amounts ofadditives to reduce foam, caking, corrosion, microbiological growth andthe like, or thickeners to increase viscosity. The solvents used mustnot be phytotoxic to the seed; generally water is used, but othervolatile solvents with low phytotoxicity such as methanol, ethanol,methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, heptyl acetate, octyl acetate, acetone,etc. may be employed alone or in combination.

Materials known as formulation aids may also be used in seed treatmentcoatings of the invention and are well known to those skilled in theart. These formulation aids assist in the production or process of seedtreatment and include but are not limited to dispersants, surfactants,carriers, antifoams and dyes. One skilled in the art will appreciatethat this is a non-exhaustive list of formulation aids and that otherrecognized materials may be used depending on the seed to be coated.Suitable examples of formulation aids include those listed herein andthose listed in McCutcheon's 2001, Volume 2: Functional Materials,published by MC Publishing Company. The amount of formulation aids usedmay vary, but generally the weight of the components will be in therange of about 0.001 to 10000% of the seed weight, with the percentagesabove 100% being mainly used for pelleting small seed. For nonpelletedseed generally the amount of formulating aids is about 0.01 to 45% ofthe seed 20 weight and typically about 0.1 to 15% of the seed weight.

Other formulation types like wetted powders, solutions, suspoemulsions,emulsifiable concentrates and concentrated emulsions are particularlyuseful for applying film coatings to seeds.

The seed coating process of the present invention is not limited to thinfilm coating and may also include seed pelleting. The pelleting processtypically increases the seed weight from 2 to 100 times and can be usedto also improve the shape of the seed for use in mechanical seeders.Pelleting compositions generally contain a solid diluent, which istypically an insoluble particulate material, such as clay, groundlimestone, powdered silica, etc. to provide bulk in addition to a bindersuch as an artificial polymer (e.g., polyvinyl alcohol, hydrolyzedpolyvinyl acetates, polyvinyl methyl ether, polyvinyl methyl ethermaleic anhydride copolymer, and polyvinylpyrrolidinone) or naturalpolymer (e.g., alginates, 30 karaya gum, jaguar gum, tragacanth gum,polysaccharide gum, mucilage). An advantage of the methods of treatingseeds in the present invention is that as sufficient layers are beingbuilt up, the coat is also drying so that the pellets may be immediatelygraded without a prolonged drying period. A method for producing pelletsis described in Agrow, The Seed Treatment Market, Chapter 3, PJBPublications Ltd., 1994.

The liquid composition to be applied to a small seed lot may be in theform of a seed treatment slurry comprising, water, a polymer,pesticides, fertilizers, nutrients, growth regulators and otherbiologically active ingredients. The liquid composition is applied tothe seed by subjecting the seed lot to a dual asymmetrical centrifugalmixing motion. The seed lot to be treated and the liquid seed dressingare placed inside a covered container, which is then placed inside amixing apparatus that works by spinning a mixing arm in one directionwhile the covered dressing container rotates in the opposite direction.The mixing apparatus works by spinning a high-speed mixing arm clockwiseat speeds up to 3,500 rpm while a basket holding the covered dressingcontainer rotates in a counterclockwise direction at approximatelyone-forth of the speed of the mixing arm. Specifically, for purposes ofthe methods the present invention seed lots may be dressed in a FlackTekSpeedMixer™ DAC 150 FV(Z) available from FlackTek, Inc., 1708 Highway11, Building G, Landrum, S.C. 29356 or alternatively from Hauschild,Waterkamp 1, 59075 Hamm, Germany.

For purposes of the present invention, the SpeedMixer™ must be used inaccordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. Specifically, inorder to maximize the benefits of the dual asymmetrical centrifugalmixing motion it is important that the containers holding the small seedlots are not overfilled. Overfilling prevents adequate seed movementwithin the container which insures uniform dressing of each seed in theseed lot. Carryover is eliminated because the containers are disposable.Depending on the number of seeds to be dressed an appropriately sizeddisposable container must be used. The SpeedMixer™ is designed to mix amaximum of 150 grams total weight and a minimum of 100 grams. It has acounter weight to balance the mixing container as it rotates.Accordingly, it is very important that 150 grams is not exceeded andthat at least 100 grams is used in the mixing container. In practice thecontainer/lid, holder and contents of the container should weigh between100 to 150 grams. Ideally, treatments should be carried out in the 115to 140 g range. Appropriate weight for use with the DAC 150 FVZ areprovided in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Cup + Wt of Empty Wt of Material Actual Wt of Holder Type Cup +Holder Recommended Material Allowed Max 100  50 g +/− 1 50-100 g  50-100g  Max 100  80 g +/− 3 20-70 g 20-70 g  Heavy Max 60  85 g +/− 3 20-60 g15-65 g  Max 40  90 g +/− 3 15-40 g 10-60 g  Max 20 120 g +/− 3 10-20 g0-41 g Max 15 120 g +/− 3  5-15 g 0-30 g Max 10 128 g +/− 3  3-10 g 0-22g Twin 10 117 g +/− 3  3-10 g 0-16 g

Using Table 2, one skilled in the art is readily able to calculate thenumber of seeds that can be treated in any of the disposable containerslisted above. One skilled in the art must know the nominal or averageweight of the seed to be dressed and the weight of the dressing materialthat will be used. For example, the nominal weight of corn seed isapproximately 250 mg/seed, while the nominal or average weight ofsoybean seed is approximately 150 mg/seed. Accordingly, the total weightof the container and lid, the container holder, the seeds to be dressedand the dressing must fall within the parameters listed in Table 2 forthe container size selected. Generally, the operator will select acontainer that is approximately one half full while also meeting theweight requirements of Table 2.

The following examples are presented by way of illustration, not by wayof limitation.

EXPERIMENTAL Example 1 Dressing Soybean Seed

Soybean seed was dressed with an experimental fungicide. A seedtreatment slurry was made by mixing in a tube using a vortex mixer thefollowing ingredients:

Fungicide 0.33 grams Latex emulsion polymer 0.33 grams Water 0.33 grams

After mixing the ingredients together the treatment slurry was placed ina 60 Max cup with 125 (20 grams) soybean seeds and mixed in theSpeedMixer™ at 500 rpm for 30 sec. Upon observation of the dressedsoybean seed the results indicated that the soybean seeds uniformlycoated with the fungicide.

Example 2 Dressing Corn Seed

Corn seed was dressed with an experimental insecticide. A seed treatmentslurry was made by mixing in a tube using a vortex mixer the followingingredients:

Insecticide 0.13 grams Latex emulsion polymer 0.68 grams

After mixing the ingredients together the treatment slurry was placed ina 60 Max cup with 50 (12 grams) corn seeds and mixed in the SpeedMixer™at 500 rpm for 30 sec. Upon observation of the dressed corn seed theresults indicated that the corn seeds uniformly coated with theinsecticide.

Example 3 Effects of Centrifugal Mixing on the Germination of Corn,Soybean and Sunflower Seed

The effects of centrifugal mixing were examined for corn, soybean andsunflower seeds in the presence and absence of latex emulsion polymer.For the latex emulsion polymer treatment one hundred (100) seeds of eachseed type were treated with five (5) drops of the latex emulsionpolymer. Each seed type was dressed in the SpeedMixer™ for fifteen (15)seconds at various RPMs as indicated in Table 3. Seven (7) corn inbreds,six (6) soybean cultivars and four (4) sunflower cultivars were treatedas indicated. Post dressing seventy two (72) plants from each 100 seedlot were planted in 72 well flats. Germination was observed at 7 dayspost planting.

TABLE 3 Treatment 5 drops of latex emulsion polymer per 100 seeds 1Control - not subjected to SpeedMixer ™ 2 SpeedMixer ™ 750 RPMs 3SpeedMixer ™ 1500 RPMs 4 SpeedMixer ™ 3000 RPMs 5 SpeedMixer ™ 750RPMs + polymer 6 SpeedMixer ™ 1500 RPMs + polymer 7 SpeedMixer ™ 3000RPMs + polymer

The experimental results indicated that at the highest RPM level allseed types (corn inbreds, soybean cultivars and sunflower cultivars)tested showed some decrease in germination.

Example 4 Treatment Effects on the Germination of Corn, Soybean andSunflower Seed

Corn, soybean and sunflower seed were dressed with a neonicotiniodinsecticide and fludioxonil/mefenaxam fungicide active ingredients. Theseeds were dressed with 75% the maximum label rate for the activeingredients. Seed treatment slurries were prepared and applied to theseeds using the SpeedMixer™. Specifically, corn seeds were dressed for10 sec. at 1500 RPMs, soybean seeds were dressed for 5 sec. at 1500 RPMsand sunflower seeds were dressed for 5 sec. at 1500 RPMs. Seven (7) corninbreds, six (6) soybean cultivars and four (4) sunflower cultivars weredressed. Germination was observed at 7 days post planting. Theexperimental results indicated all seed types (corn inbreds, soybeancultivars and sunflower cultivars) tested showed normal germination.

All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in thespecification are indicative of the level of those skilled in the art towhich this invention pertains. All publications, patents and patentapplications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent asif each individual publication, patent or patent application wasspecifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity ofunderstanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modificationsmay be practiced within the scope of the embodiments.

1. A method of dressing a small seed lot, comprising: a) providing a small seed lot to be dressed; b) providing a liquid composition to be applied to said small seed lot; and c) applying a dual asymmetrical centrifugal mixing motion to said small seed lot and said liquid composition for a sufficient amount of time to surface coat said small seed lot wherein said dual asymmetrical centrifugal mixing motion causes said liquid composition to uniformly spread and subsequently dry onto each seed surface in said small seed lot.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said small seed lot contains seeds from at least one plant selected from the group consisting of maize, wheat, barley, rice, sorghum, rye, millet, cotton, safflower, rape seed, sunflower, Brassica, alfalfa, palm, coconut, flax, castor, olive guar, locust bean, fenugreek, soybean, garden beans, cowpea, mungbean, lima bean, fava bean, lentils, and chickpea.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid composition further comprises an active ingredient selected from the group consisting of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, bactericides, nematicides, molluscicides, or mixtures thereof.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid composition comprises a carrier, a surfactant, a dye, a pigment, a growth regulator, a dispersant, a film-forming polymer, an anti-caking agent, a foam-control agent, or mixtures thereof.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said small seed lot comprises from 1 to 10,000 seeds.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said dual asymmetrical centrifugal mixing motion is performed by an automatic mixer.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said small seed lot and said liquid composition weighs up to 100 grams.
 8. A method of dressing a small seed lot, said method comprising: receiving a small seed lot in a container; receiving a liquid composition in the container; covering the container; receiving the covered container in a basket of a mixing apparatus, the mixing apparatus also including a mixing arm; and effecting dual asymmetrical centrifugal mixing of the seed lot and liquid composition by rotating the mixing arm in one direction while rotating the basket containing the covered container in an opposite direction, thus resulting in surface coating of the seed lot.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein dual asymmetrical centrifugal mixing of the seed lot and the liquid composition is effected by rotating the mixing arm clockwise and rotating the basket containing the covered container counterclockwise.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein said small seed lot contains seeds from at least one plant selected from the group consisting of maize, wheat, barley, rice, sorghum, rye, millet, cotton, safflower, rape seed, sunflower, Brassica, alfalfa, palm, coconut, flax, castor, olive guar, locust bean, fenugreek, soybean, garden beans, cowpea, mungbean, lima bean, fava bean, lentils, and chickpea.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein said liquid composition further comprises an active ingredient selected from the group consisting of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, bactericides, nematicides, molluscicides, or mixtures thereof.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein said liquid composition comprises a carrier, a surfactant, a dye, a pigment, a growth regulator, a dispersant, a film-forming polymer, an anti-caking agent, a foam-control agent, or mixtures thereof.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein said small seed lot comprises from 1 to 10,000 seeds.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein said small seed lot and said liquid composition weighs up to 100 grams.
 15. A method of seed pelleting for a small seed lot, said method comprising: receiving a small seed lot in a container; receiving a pelleting composition in the container; covering the container; receiving the covered container in a basket of a mixing apparatus, the mixing apparatus also including a mixing arm; and effecting dual asymmetrical centrifugal mixing of the seed lot and pelleting composition by rotating the mixing arm in one direction while rotating the basket containing the covered container in an opposite direction.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein said pelleting composition contains a solid diluent.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein said solid diluent comprises clay selected from the group consisting of bentonite, montmorillonite, attapulgite and kaolin.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein said solid diluent comprises an insoluble particulate material and a binder.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein said binder comprises at least one of an artificial polymer and a natural polymer.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein said solid diluent is selected from the group consisting of clays, starch, sugar, silica, talc, mica, TiO2, diatomaceous earth, urea, calcium carbonate, sodium carbonate and bicarbonate, and sodium sulphate, or combinations thereof. 